Veterans using the Post-9/11 GI bill will see their monthly living stipends stopped between fall and winter semesters, starting next year, and only full time students will continue to draw stipends at the 100 percent rate. Those two cost-saving changes, plus a new $17,500 nationwide cap on Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits for students attending private […]

Cannon Connections: Liliana Castillo Cannon spouse Michelle Patterson, 29, stuffs a small stocking with candy canes for the Single Airmen’s Dinner with her 11-month old son Devawn in her arms during the meeting. Liliana Castillo At first glance, the Cannon Spouses Club gave veterans in nursing homes crossword puzzles and toiletries for the holidays. But […]

Some of us, when we see a proposal to raise VA health care fees for a category of veteran in a report on ways to curb federal budget deficits, jump to the conclusion that veteran benefits are under fresh attack. Bernard Rostker, former under secretary of defense for personnel and now a senior fellow at […]

There’s something about a man in uniform; there’s an undeniable, strength and responsibility of donning the gear of the armed forces. It isn’t simply about an attraction to a certain type of person, there is a lot of implied valor whether you see a no striper or a highly decorated zebra-arm. There is a great […]

Argen Duncan “O beautiful for heroes proved in liberating strife, who more than self their country loved, and mercy more than life!” With those words from “America, the Beautiful” and many other statements, participants in the 64th annual American Legion Veterans Day service honored veterans and current service members as the heroes in the song. […]

U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., issued the following statement in honor of our nation’s veterans: Each Veterans Day is a solemn occasion when we, as a nation, reflect and show gratitude to those who have served or are currently serving in our military and the families who support them. I’d especially like to thank New […]

Alisa Boswell I have to say it made me proud to see how much acknowledgment our local communities and newspapers gave Veterans Day this year. It was significant to me to write the Veterans Day cover story for the Clovis and Portales papers, because my father was in the U.S. Air Force for 22 years […]

Alisa Boswell Several events are happening in Clovis and Portales this week to honor veterans. Today at Eastern New Mexico University, students and faculty will be donating supplies, letters and thank you cards with care packages being sent to servicemembers in Iraq and Afghanistan. According to Nikki Howard of Academic Affairs, the university has been […]

Danielle Swopes In honor of Veterans’ Day and Native American Heritage Month, the Portales Public Library and the New Mexico Humanities Council are sponsoring an appearance by Judith Avila at the local library at 4 p.m. Monday. Please join us as Judith discusses Navajo code talkers in World War II and brings forth the life […]

Argen Duncan For the 64th year in a row, the local American Legion is honoring those who have served with their annual Veterans Day service. The event is open to the public. American Legion Post 31 and Auxiliary Unit 31 make a special effort to honor the area’s two surviving Bataan Death March survivors and […]

Students to honor vets Elida students and staff will honor area veterans for their service to our country on Wednesday. A brief program followed by lunch will take place in the school cafeteria beginning at 11:45 a.m.

Janelle Foster Ellen W. Jones chapter 1022 of United Daughters of the Confederacy held a grave marking and dedication for Confederate veteran William Beck in the Floyd Cemetery on Saturday. Beck was one of the first burials in the cemetery, having died in 1904. His burial location was found in May, and plans were made […]

Cannon Connections photo: Liliana Castillo Yucca teacher Ann Sharp said the brag board will be located near the school’s Wall of Fame, where students’ achievements are displayed. Yucca Junior High School wants to brag about their students. The public relations committee at Yucca, one of two junior high schools in Clovis, were amid planning for […]

Anthony Principi, former secretary of veterans affairs, warned last week that disabled veterans and their families will suffer if Americans “lose faith in the integrity” of VA disability compensation system. Thankfully, for hundreds of thousands of Vietnam veterans in line to be compensated for three additional diseases linked Agent Orange exposure, few senators seemed ready […]

American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON — Department of Veterans Affairs officials are launching a multi-year initiative called Veterans Relationship Management, or VRM, that will greatly improve veterans’ access to health care and benefits information. “VRM will transform veterans’ interactions with VA by using innovative 21st century technologies,” said VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki. “Veterans will […]

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tom Udall, D-N.M., is urging active duty service members, veterans, and beneficiaries of service members who were involuntarily extended between September 11, 2001 and September 30, 2009, to apply for Retroactive Stop Loss Special Pay. Under the 2009 War Supplemental Appropriations Act, compensation is available to service members of every military […]

The Department of Veterans Affairs published its final regulation Aug. 31 for compensating Vietnam veterans with ischemic heart disease, Parkinson’s disease or B-cell leukemia, or their surviving spouses. Veterans diagnosed with these diseases only will have to show they stepped foot in Vietnam sometime from Jan. 9, 1962 through May 7, 1975, to qualify for […]

By Tom Philpott: Military Update Disabled veterans were thrilled in 2007 when the Veterans Disability Benefits Commission asked Congress to enact an immediate “quality of life” increase to disability payments from the Department of Veterans Affairs. The special increase, said VDBC commissioners, should be across the board, benefiting all veterans with service-connected health conditions, and […]